Paint roller construction



Jan. 19, 1965 J. J. M GINLEY PAINT ROLLER CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 12,1965 INVENTOR.

BY WM 754mm A ORNEY 3,165,772 PAINT ROLLER CONSTRUTION James J.McGinley, Williston' Park, N.Y., assignor to Baker Brush Co., lnc fNewYork, N311, a corporation ofNew York Filed Sept. 12, 1963, Ser. No.308,475 4 Claims. (Cl. 15- 23t).11)

This invention relates to an applicator device for paint and the like,commonly known as a paint roller. More particularly, this inventionrelates to an improved paint roller device which features improvedoperation as compared with rollers heretofore known, coupled with s1mplicity of construction, economy of production and ready replaceabilityor substitutionof new roll units on the roller frame.

Basically, the paint roller is a simple structure including a handle andan axle disposed normal to the handle. A frame is rotatably carried onthe axle and is provided with means for frictionally supporting on theouter periphery of the frame a cylindrical roller having a paintretaining outer surface. For efiicient performance and long life, aswell as for easy replaceability of the cylindrical member, a paintroller should have the following characteristics:

(1) The frame carrying the cylindrical member should rotate freely aboutthe axle;

(2) the roller should be easily slid on and off the roller retainingframe;

(3) application of the roller to the frame should not cause distortionof the frame, as such distortion might result in a binding effect of theframe with respect to the axle;

' (4) the frame should be coupled to the axle and shielded by the rollerin such manner that the possibility of paint leakage to the interiorofthe structure is minimized.

In the past, various forms of roller support structures and variousmeans of applying these support structures to the axe have beensuggested. For instance, in addition to a wide variety of shapes of bentwire support, there has been proposed the use of a single helix havingcenter turns of greater diameter than the end turns-see United StatesPatent No. 3,019,466. While the use of a helix, as suggested in theabove noted patent has, in a measure, provided a structure which isadvantageous in certain respects, the structure of such patent hasintroduced other problems which greatly detract from the desirability ofthe therein suggested structure.

The above noted patent may be generally stated as disclosing the use ofa single helix integrated with end cap members, which cap members are,in turn, rotatably mounted on an axle. Sleeving a roller onto thestructure over the end caps results in the sleeves being frictionallysupported on the center turns of the helix which are made wider than theend turns. 7

I have disclosed that the structure as above described has the seriousdrawback of interposing a considerable degree of frictional resistanceto rotation of the frame in respect of the axle as soon as a roller issleeved over the frame. More particularly, initially the frame mayrotate freely about the'axle. However, as soon as a roller is sleevedover such frame, a frictional resistance to turning appears, whichresistance greatly decreases the efficiency of the device as a paintapplying medium.

It should be understood that in the proper use of a paint roller, aslight pressure between the paint applying surface and the wall surfaceshould be suflicient to cause a rotation of the roller with respect tothe axle, as the handle is moved across the surface to be painted. If avery free rotation between the roller and the axle is not present, theroller may skid across the area to be painted,

resulting in an uneven coating. Since the presence of paint on the outersurface of the roller greatl reduces the coefficient of friction betweenthe roller and the surface to be painted, the danger of skidding isconsiderably increased. v

In order to prevent skidding with roller units which have the tendencyto bind slightly, it is necessary to apply increased pressure to thehandle. Where considerable pressure must be applied to assure rotationof the roller,- operation of the roller will prove tiring to the user.Moreover, the use of increased roller pressures requires that the rollerbe charged with smaller quantities of paint, thereby necessitatingfrequent applications of paint to the roller.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the in-' Still a furtherobject of the invention is the provision of a paint roller device wherethe roller support framewill be freely rotatable with respect to theaxle, both before and after application of the roller sleeve thereto.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a device'of theclass described which is so constructed as to resist the entry of paintinto the internal spaces between the sleeve and the axle, so that theinitial free wheeling relationship of the parts is preserved afterrepeated use.

To attain these objects and such further objects as' may appear hereinor be hereinafter pointed out, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part hereof, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a roller in accordance with theinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a magnified vertical section taken on the line 22 of FIGURE1;

FIGURE 3 is a section-taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic view to illustrate the manner of measuringthe helix angle.

In accordance with the-invention, a paint roller-1t}, is

formed with the usual handle 11, from which thereis extended a wire rod12 bent to provide an axle 13, spaced by bridge portion 14 from the wirerod 12, the axle 13 lying perpendicular to the handle 11.

Mounted on the axle 13, in spaced relation to each other, are end capmembers 15 and 16, preferably com prised of plastic or the like. Thecaps 15 and 16 are provided with internal bores 17, 18, respectively,which fit about the axle or shaft 13 with relatively close tolerances.The cap 16 is prevented from shifting laterally outward along the axle13 by lugs 20 formed on the axle, a washer 21 being interposed betweenthe cap and the lugs 20. The end cap 15 is similarly supported againstlongitudinal movement along the axle 13 by means of a bolt 22 which isthreaded into aperture 23 formed in the free end of the axle 13, awasher 24 preferably being interposed between the head of bolt 22 andthe axle 13.

The roller support assembly 30 next to be described comprises a pair ofhelices 31, 32. The helices 31, 32 are preferably identical and are, asbest seen in FIGURES 2 and 3, fixed to each other so that the helicesare rotated one with respect to the other. As will best be observed fromFIGURE 3, any reference plane passing perpendicularly through the axle13 will intersect a portion of each helix, the portions intersected byany such The helices are formed at their ends with one or more tightturns 33, which turns are connected to each other and also preferablytoshort sleeve sections 34, 34.

The end caps 15, 16 are provided with inwardly directed cylindricalportions 15a, 16a, the sleeves 34, 3-4. of the roller support structurebeing loosely supported over said cylindrical portions. The connectionbetween the roller support assembly and the end caps thus per mitslongitudinal movement of the support assembly with respect to the capsand further permits a transverse movement of the supportassembly or cagewith respect to the caps in a' direction normaleto the axis of axle 13.

The freedom of movement aforesaid is important to the successfuloperation of the device.

-A roller member 50, of generally cylindrical configuration andincluding a cylindrical liner 1 and a paint applicator surface 52, iscarried by the roller support 3%. The outside d'iameter'of the turns ofthe helices 31, 32 between the end portions 34, 34 is such that theinner diameter of the cylindrical portion 51 is slightly smaller thanthe diameter of the above mentioned parts.

The roller 50 applied in the usual manner, i.e. by sleeving the sameover the end cap 15 and toward the end cap 16 until cylindrical portion51 is stopped from further inward movement by engagement with radiallyextending flange 1611 on the end cap 16, the resilient material of whichthe helices 31, 32 are made enabling the same to compress and thereafterfrictionally grip the inner diameter of theroller assembly. The easewith which the sliding operation above notedmay be carried out isgreatly enhanced by the use of a helix angle of 45 or greater.

In the use of a lesser helix angle, as for instance that shown in PatentNo. 3,019,466, there is a very considerable resistance to the slidingapplication of the roller over the frame. Such resistance may, in ashort time, result in distortion of the frame, with a resultant unevenconnection between the roller and frame, whereby the support between theframe and the roller may be concentrated at or near one end of theframe, with the other end of the frame providing clearance between theframe and the inner diameter of the roller.

I have discovered that the binding in the bearings which occurs in theuse of a helix as exemplified in the above noted patent, is occasionedby the tendency of any single supporting helix to assume a bowed orcurved configuration when placed under stress by the application of aroller thereover. This tendency is accentuated where, as noted in thesaid patent, the center turns of the helix are made wider than the otherturns. In the applied position of the roller of a single helix, a threepoint stress system is set up, the central point of which is located atthe point of contact of a center turn of the helix and the innerdiameter of the roller, i.e. normally substantially medially of theroller, and the other two stress points are disposed adjacent the endsof the helix. As a result of this stress system which tends to how thehelix, and as a further result of the integration of the end caps of theprior art and the ends of the helix, the end caps are tilted withrespect to each other and do not maintain the position normal to theaxle which they occupied prior to application of the roller. As a resultof the tilting aforesaid, a frictional or braking connection between theend caps and the axle is achieved, which inhibits a free rotation of themechanism after application of the roller sleeve.

In my device, the expedient of providing two helices in opposedrelation, together with the expedient of providing play between the endsof the helices and the end caps, completely eliminate any additionalfriction upon application of the roller sleeve.

It is possiblein my construction to provide a relatively tight -fit, ifdesired, between the inner diameter of the cylindrical component 51 ofthe roller and the outer diameter 15b, 16b of the end caps. Such tightfit is desirable since the ingress of paints or solvents to the interiorof the structure will be lessened.

Similarly, as previously noted, the close fit between borings i7, 18 ofthe end caps and the axle may be provided, in my device, without fear ofbinding resulting from a tilting of the end caps. The close fitaforesaid is a further factor limiting leakage of paint to the interiorof the structure.

In contrast, structures heretofore known and utilizing a single helixroller support frame required the provision of oversize bearingapertures to overcome the bending efiiects above noted. By discoveringthe cause of the binding effect and by designing a device which obviatesthis effect, I :am, for the first time, able to provide a paintapplicator device which successfully utilizes a helical roller supportframe.

The resulting paint roller structure has been found to be highlyimproved as compared with paint roller structures heretofore known, andwill be susceptible of long and efiicient usage.

Having thus described the invention and illustrated its use, what isclaimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A paint roller device comprising a support rod having one end leadingto a handle and having its other end i ent to form an axle portion, aspaced pair of end cap members rotatably mounted on said axle portion,means on said axle for limiting outward relative movement of said endcaps, cylindrical portions formed on said end cap members, a rollsupport carried on said cylindrical portions of said end cap members,said roll support comprising a pair of substantially identical helicesof resilient material, said helices being disposed coaxially about saidaxle portion and being angularly rotated with respect to each other, anannulus formed at each terminal end of said roll support, each saidannulus being loosely supported on the cylindrical portion of one ofsaid end cap members and being movable relative to said cap members bothlongitudinally and transversely with respect to the axis of said axle,and a roller member sleeved over said roll support and having acylindrical interior supported by contact with said helices, said rollermember overlying portions of said cap members.

-2. A device in accordance :with claim 1 wherein the helix angle of saidhelices is at least 45.

-3. A paint roller device comprising a support rod having one endleading to a handle and having its other end forming an axle portion, aspaced pair of end cap members rotatably supported on said axle portion,means on said axle portion for limiting separating relative movement ofsaid end caps, cylindrical portions formed on said end cap members, aroll support member carried on said cylindrical portions, said rollsupport member comprising first and second substantially identicalhelices of resilient spring material, said helices being disposedcoaxially about said axle portion and being angular and rotated 180 withrespect to each other, annular means formed at the ends of said helicesand uniting the latter, each said annular means being loosely supportedon the cylindrical portion of one of said end cap members and beingmovable with respect to said end cap members longitudinally andtransversely with relation to said end cap members.

4. A device in accordance with claim 3 wherein the helix angle of eachsaid helix is at least 45.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,019,466 2/42Denholtz a 14-230.11

FOREIGN PATENTS 206,185 1/09 Germany.

CHARLES A. WILL'M'UTH, Primary Examiner.

3. A PAINT ROLLER DEVICE COMPRISING A SUPPORT ROD HAVING ONE END LEADING TO A HANDLE AND HAVING ITS OTHER END FORMING AN AXLE PORTION, A SPACED PAIR OF END CAP MEMBERS ROTATABLY SUPPORTED ON SAID AXLE PORTION, MEANS ON SAID AXLE PORTION FOR LIMITING SEPARATING RELATIVE MOVEMENT OF SAID END CAPS, CYLINDRICAL PORTIONS FORMED ON SAID END CAP MEMBERS, A ROLL SUPPORT MEMBER CARRIED ON SAID CYLINDRICAL PORTIONS, SAID ROLL SUPPORT MEMBER COMPRISING FIRST AND SECOND SUBSTANTIALLY IDENTICAL HELICES OF RESILIENT SPRING MATERIAL, SAID HELICES BEING DISPOSED COAXIALLY ABOUT SAID AXLE PORTION AND BEING ANGULAR AND ROTATED 180* WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER, ANNULAR MEANS FORMED AT THE ENDS OF SAID HELICES AND UNITING THE LATTER, EACH SAID ANNULAR MEANS BEING LOSSELY SUPPORTED ON THE CYLINDRICAL PORTION OF ONE OF SAID END CAP MEMBER AND BEING MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO SAID END CAP MEMBER LONGITUDINALLY AND TRANSVERSELY WITH RELATION TO SAID END CAP MEMBERS. 